1989 Directed by Paul Lynch
A man inadvertently gets caught near a car explosion, and after he recovers from his injuries realizes that he has amnesia. Soon evidence begins to mount that he could be "The Claw Hammer Killer, " a serial murderer who targets for death the former patrons of a particular restaurant called Puzzles.
USA
USA
Pretty solid late 80’s made-for-tv Canadian serial killer thriller staring some familiar faces (always gorgeous Kay Lenz, always ugly Michael Ironside) & directed by the fella who made Prom Night. Worth a late night watch if any of those things above tick any boxes for you.
Pestered by a detective who believes that he is faking his condition, an amnesic man tries to work out why he was found passed out near a murder scene in this nifty telepic from Canada. Michael Ironside is perfect as the taunting and unrelenting police officer and the film has some appropriately haunting dreams and nightmares as pieces of the puzzle slowly come back to the protagonist. What works best about the film though is the personal identity themes it taps into with the protagonist trying to rediscover who he is and whether he wants to even be that person; "maybe I don't want to remember". The pacing of the project is sometimes off, with a love subplot a particular distraction; the final ten minutes are also a bit underwhelming when all cards come out on the table, but this generally effective - even unsettling at times.
Did Paul Lynch not think anyone else had seen Douglas Hickox’ Blackout? This is OK but it’s literally nothing we haven’t seen before, although the semi-predictable twist is certainly fun.
Murder By Night has a very good cast in Robert Urich, Michael Ironside, Jim Metzler and Kay Lenz. I liked the mood and atmosphere. The look of the film with the blue light is perfect. It’s a good thriller. I guess the killer is obvious, but it’s still an entertaining film. I’ve been watching these made for tv thrillers from the 80s and 90s lately and this is one of the more enjoyable ones. Urich was such a great actor. Writer Alan B. McElroy’s other credits include Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Wrong Turn.
I’ve already forgotten most of what happened in this adequate little Canadian thriller. Good lazy day afternoon watching.
